SOUTH End: Missouri state line, 5 miles
SW of Cincinnati, Appanoose County IA/Putnam County MO

Facing west, but heading south, on 5

At approximately this point - the west edge of Cincinnati -
the gravel route of IA 60 and today's paved IA 5 diverge. Looking at an
Appanoose County map, you can see the curves the road used to take
before the state line, west of the present route. More on
that below. Brookfield, three counties down on US 36, is one of the
farthest south cities on an Iowa leaving-town LGS.

Facing southwest, but heading south, on 5

Like other routes at the line, the first sign is not a
Missouri highway shield but a "Missouri state line" sign.

And yes, this intersection has another one of "those" stores.

Facing northeast, but heading north, on 5

The asphalt colors mark the dividing point, and the gravel road
intersects at an angle. Reddish asphalt appears elsewhere in southern
Iowa as well.

Surrounding area
information: Old end of IA 60

Facing north

On the Missouri side, the piece of old 60 is paved as Route UU. From
at least the early 1930s to 1951, this was where MO 5 met the state
line, though the entry into Iowa may be slightly different.

Closeup of sign at right

Unlike Iowa, though, "county" trunk highways are maintained by
MoDOT. Such an arrangement doesn't lend as much benefit to mass
decommissionings, which may explain why Putnam County still has MO 129, 139, and 149 continuing north to the Iowa state line despite being
essentially worthless north of US 136.

Facing south

This street sign is on the Missouri side of the road with
Putnam County names. Appanoose County is in charge of the gravel road.

This Appanoose sign is unusual in the sense that rural street names
tend to end in 0 or 5, depending on whether it's the mile or half-mile
in the plat. In this case, 614th Street is the marked because there is
not quite half a mile between the section line and the state line. The
state line is steadily creeping east-north-eastward from the west end
of the county to the east, shaving off about half a mile in the
process. This partial row of sections vanishes entirely two miles east
of US 63. For more information see my page about Iowa's southern border.

Surrounding area information: Motel 60

A short distance north of the IA 5/IA 2 intersection in Centerville
is this throwback, from when 5 was IA 60. This is the original
building; it has since expanded, as can be seen from the second Motel
60 sign in the background.